July, Part IV
July 17th, the Pods showed up this day… I mostly took this picture to track the numbers in the corner in case they were lost. You see, the company picks them up and plops them in a warehouse full of Pods. The idea of losing our stuff in a warehouse somewhere concerned me. See this image larger.
On July 20th and 22nd Nina had physical therapy, and Melissa went both times. Melissa has gone every time, and I’ve really only gone twice. She’s an awesome mommy.
Also on July 22nd, Nina went in for the Cystic Fibrosis test, and also had a CT scan for Choanal Atresia, which was confirmed at that time. “Radiologist said he got good images.” Yeah, well, we’ll talk about that again soon.
On July 23rd, we received the result that Nina tested negative for Cystic Fibrosis. She was fine! 🙂
July 24th and things started to get down-to-the-wire for moving. Here Ian helped me out with a box full of stuff! If I remember correctly Grampa Dave and Grandma Marcia helped us with some packing around this time and we moved mountains I didn’t think were possible to move. (I’m looking at you, elliptical exercise machine.) The basement was pretty much emptied, but there was a long haul ahead of us. See this image larger.
It was also fun when Ian helped me load some items into the Pods. Here you can see he carried chalk, a boat, and a few other toys into the Pod all by himself! 🙂 See this image larger.
July 26th, it is a credit to the expert packers (mostly Grampa Dave and I) that we got away with hardly any casualties in the move. This shows an example of the Pod I was most proud of. Ian’s turtle sandbox made up the keystone. See this image larger.
July 27th, Mommy went to another PT session with Nina.
July 28th the ENT called to let us know that the CT scan had arrived and that we should come in to talk about the results. I believe it was at this time that Melissa asked if the scans showed anything else to worry about. The answer at that time was no. And at that time… the answer was wrong.
July 12th, Ian and I discover that the track he got for Christmas a long time ago can actually become cool hats. So. We wore them. 
Unless somebody tells me otherwise, I believe July 12th was Nina’s first solid food… rice cereal! 
A lot of it ended up back out on her face, but once it got in there on the second or third push… it was found to be fully acceptable by the patron. 
July 15th, the previous ER trip with Nina led us here to the ENT. I took this picture there, and it serves as a reminder of a feeling I had at the time. Fear, mostly. This is when the topic of Cystic Fibrosis was brought up, and a test was scheduled for about a week later. This is also when Nina was first diagnosed with Choanal Atresia, that she has only one open nasal passage. 
Nina and Mommy snooze in the background, Ian in the fore. 
July 10th when our friends Elena and Scott offered up that Ian could stay the night if we needed some time to pack, we took her up on it quick. 
Ian grabbed his backpack for the overnight stay… he looked adventurous with it on, so I told him to put his hand up to his head and squint off into the distance like an explorer. Somehow we ended up with this sleepy salute, but that’ll do. 
This was his first sleepover! Such a brave boy! (I only stayed up and worried a little.) 
Click! 
Click! 
Click! 
Click! 
Click! 
On July 2nd we had 224 Arbor inspected, here’s Melissa writing something down on a piece of paper like “OhMyGawdWeLuvUrHouse.” (Probably not.) 
There were clues that we might not have enough room for stuff, if we looked around carefully enough. 
You’re probably wondering how we could let the Fourth of July pass without an adorable and patriotic photo of our children wearing red, white and blue. Well, we did take this picture on the Fourth, we just didn’t post them at the time. Here! 🙂 
A bonus picture for your patience! 
July 6th, Ian brought his laptop downstairs and joined Daddy for work in the office! 
My favorite co-worker of all time! 
July 7th, and Target loses the fight of marketing vs sleepytime. 
July 9th, we ended up in the emergency room based on a phonecall from daycare stating that Nina was having difficulty breathing. This would eventually lead to her procedure on September 21st, though at the time we figured she was just a little stuffy. She was started on a nebulizer. (which sounded so futuristic, I had to throw in a laser sound effect “pew-pew!!!”) 
That evening Daddy and Ian foraged for food on our own while Mommy stayed with Nina… we went to the “Pizza Store.” Ian looks hungry. (If we haven’t mentioned it previously, restaurants are referred to as “stores” for now, by food type or menu item of Ian’s interest. “Peanut Butter & Jelly Store” and “Mexican Store” are other examples.) 
June 16th, Ian high-tails it away from home. I can’t tell who took this picture, it was probably Grandma Barb, based on the name of the image. 
June 17th, and why does my three year old look like he’s 12? 
June 23rd. Before Nina’s Baptism, Melissa and I had only looked at three houses. Afterwards we ended up looking at many, many more. Somewhere near 40 houses total. On June 23rd we took another look at 224 Arbor Drive… and this picture shows an exhausted Ian, who was with us at the time. 
June 25th, and her top says it all! 
Nina shows off her ability to stand, which is excellent! Still there were other milestones she hadn’t reached, including some head-holding-up issues. 
On June 26th, Melissa, Ian, Nina and I took a break with the Schoenborns to see the Grand Rapids White Caps in action. 
A great time was had by all! 
June 28th, Ian enjoys kicking back. 
Nina started physical therapy that same day. Melissa has never missed a physical therapy session and has been an awesome mommy through the many obstacles thrown our way. (No, that’s not Melissa in the picture.) I’ll skip the obvious “Nina really looks like she’s having a ball” caption. 😉 
Perhaps exhausted from physical therapy earlier in the day, I love the expression on Nina’s face here. She tends to hit extreme highs and lows — however THIS look, this appears to be mildly annoyed. 
Ian tries to find the four-armed person who uses this hanger. 
June 14th – Kaylee performs an interpretive dance about the current political and financial climate of the world. Ok so she was just trying on an outfit! 
June 15th – By now the party’s starting to close down. A last-minute photo-op with cousins… not too bad, at least nobody’s cry– 
–ing. Nevermind. 
Oh wait, Nina’s almost smiling, we can do this, we can do this!!! Wait, no we can’t. Connor? Connor please wake up. Kaylee please stop singing… Ian… where’s Ian?!? And who is that orange guy?!? 
And now good-bye hugs… the Kunzes hit the road for Ohio. 
Nina smiles big in Grampa Ray and Grandma Barb’s arms! 
And here’s a big smile for everybody… thank you so much for being a part of Nina’s Baptism, this is her way of saying “thank you.” 
So much to celebrate! 
Ian graduated to a new class, if you’re wondering what the little cake was for in the picture above… here he makes short work of it! Nice catch on the picture, Uncle Chris! 
I can’t remember what happened, I think Nina started crying endlessly and I couldn’t figure out what to do — Mommy and some of the others were strolling around downtown Rockford… and I needed to make an emergency run to Meijer… Uncle Chris stepped in here for a bit, and did a fine job. 
Grandma Marcia holds Nina while she “noms” her fingers! 
Grampa Dave takes a turn with the Princess! 
I know that means she’s tired but it sure looks like she’s saying “ENOUGH PICTURES!!!” 
Four out of five isn’t bad for smile to people ratio! 
Chapman guys over four feet tall, represent! 
Nina’s saying *Grampa Ray is a-okay!* 
Cousins-in-a-box! 
I never do win the “who is looking at what camera” war! Ah well, almost everybody’s smiling! 
Now I can’t even get the kids to look at any camera! What, the couch and the floor are more interesting? 
The brothers gunna work it out! 
Grandma Sue takes Nina for a stroll! 
Alright Ian and Kaylee, that’s a long enough blog entry, why don’t you two take us out with a — SLAM! (giggle!) 
The after party! Why hullo there! Grampa Dave, Grandma Marcia, Uncle Chris, and Great Grandma Betty hang out at table #2! 
Grandpa Ray and Grandma Barb shared their 40th wedding anniversary with Nina’s Baptism… congratulations you two! 
A gift for their anniversary! 
Nina enjoys the celebration, donning her party hat! 
I’d ask what you see here, but you’d say “two cute kids.” I see trouble with a capital T. 😉 
Baptized for approximately 90 minutes, and Nina’s pretty sure she can see God if she looks hard enough. And Mommy looks like an angel! 
We were at Grill 111 for the celebration, and these characters enjoyed their lunch! 
Grandma Sue helps Nina dance around, and the smiles were big and happy! 
*Hey I see a penny!* *A penny? Where?!?* 
June 13th, the big day! Kaylee shows off her outfit, lookin’ pretty! 
Nina’s got her game face on! 
Looks like the other kids are ready too! Smiles, everybody! 
We get all the kids smiling so rarely, here’s a couple more versions of this shoot. 
I should probably combine this shot with the one above… Nice job, though, kids! 
At the church, and Nina gets baptized! 
Love this shot, even though it isn’t very well taken. (I think I did this one.) Mommy’s happy! 
Our awesome family! (Pretty much the perfect shot except for Ian’s belly poking out of his sweater… still, that’s what little boys are all about, and that’s probably my fault anyway.) 
